


As You Come Around

by explodingnebulae



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Love Confessions, M/M, Pre-Kerberos Mention, Romantic Fluff, Self-indulgent fluff, Song Lyrics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2019-03-02 11:50:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13317480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/explodingnebulae/pseuds/explodingnebulae
Summary: Keith manages to get two days of leave from his rigorous training with the Blade of Marmora and decides to drop in to see Shiro.





	As You Come Around

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> I wanted to write some self-indulgent Sheith after listening to Heaven is a Place on Earth by Belinda Carlisle. Keith deserves to be happy, okay? And naturally I wanted to write something for Dallie because it's been a while. Whoops.

It was the first time he’s ever been literally dragged to one of these gatherings. In all of his time as an esteemed Paladin of Voltron, Keith somehow managed to avoid nearly every party, claiming he had training or needed to run diagnostics on his lion. Now, he wasn’t a paladin of Voltron, he wasn’t anything to anyone, not really. He was a member of the Blade of Marmora who made the mistake of dropping in at the wrong time. Presumably.

That was until he saw the coy smirk smeared across Lance’s smug face. Admittedly, he wanted to beat it off of him, feeling the tight coils of deceit spiraling tighter around his organs and squeezing him until anxiety bled through his insides. He found no pleasure in social events, no delight in being surrounded by people from all walks of life. He hated it when piloted the lions and he hated it now. 

But Lance dragged him down the hall of the Castle all the same. No matter the protests that left his mouth, the pilot of his former lion continued to talk over him at rapid-fire pace, explaining in hurried detail what the ceremony was for, who it was celebrating, who it was being thrown by, why it was taking place in the Castle… And Keith did not catch a single word of it; not that he really wanted to, anyway. 

All he knew was that he came to see Shiro at the wrong time. Now he was the only representative of the Blade of Marmora, ally of Voltron and the resistance. He needed to be there. He needed to be present, and he needed to look good.

Before he knew it, he was being shoved into what he could only presume to be the universe’s largest walk-in closet. Had this room always been there? Rows upon rows of hanging clothes, saturated and bland, studded and smooth, vivacious and discreet, lined the room on hangers. His lips parted in a silent exclamation as his anxiety trickled slowly into a growing panic. He did his best to shake it, not wanting Lance to see him sweat over something so banal. Keith straightened himself and blinked hard to mask his unrest and conceded to the truth that he was not escaping whatever affair was lined up for him.

“And remember, this isn’t a funeral, so make sure you look _good_ ,” Lance called before the door slid shut behind him and left Keith to his own devices. 

A sigh slipped from him as he looked around the room, crestfallen. He hated being forced into situations, but it couldn’t be helped now. All he could do was play along. At least Shiro would be there, he had to remind himself as he took an uncertain step forward. Of course Shiro would be there, he had to be. He was the leader of Voltron, after all. And the prestigious pilot of the Black Lion could not be absent for any more functions. 

The time he had spent in absentia had been one of the darkest times for Keith, a shadowed spot in his timeline he preferred to not reflect upon. Uncertainty and loneliness drove him to breaking points that concerned the rest of his team, put their lives in jeopardy as he pushed forward. He wanted only to find Shiro once more, if only for closure. He needed the reassuring hand at his shoulder, the steadying force within his life, his touchstone, and he did anything and everything to find him. Keith lost Shiro once before; he wasn’t going to suffer the same heartache again.

He rifled through the racks of clothing until he came across a charcoal button up that fit him quite comfortably. Skilled fingers fastened the buttons with little issue and he made even quicker work of his cuffs, rolling them to the elbow and leaving them there. Next came pants and then shoes, which appeared to very much compliment his top. A tailored pair of black slacks that hugged his ass in a way even he found attractive served as his bottoms and he grabbed at a set of polished obsidian shoes. 

Keith made his way to one of the many mirrors in the room and looked himself over. If he was going to see Shiro, he wanted to make sure he looked perfect and as he carded his fingers through his shaggier than usual mop of hair, he realized that it did not attest to that desire. An annoyed groan sounded in his throat as he moved from the mirror to look around the room. There had to be a hair-tie in there somewhere, right? 

To anyone outside the door, he would have seemed a madman. Keith swore and cursed under his breath as he poked and prodded his fingers with different pins and hair accessories, all of which had seemingly been untouched. At one point, he thought of conceding altogether and dealing with the internalized embarrassment of not playing the part. But that’s probably what Lance expected of him; to go beneath and below instead of above and beyond. And he couldn’t give Lance that satisfaction. They might have worked their way to a level of friendship, but he wasn’t going to let the now good-spirited rivalry between them slip away. 

At last, his endeavor proved successful and he quickly pulled his hair back into a simple ponytail. He returned to the mirror and tucked a stray piece of hair behind his ear. They couldn’t all be uniform, but that’s what happened when you were in space and didn’t have time to visit a barber regularly. Sometimes, you had to do it yourself. Regardless, he was satisfied with his appearance and even fancied himself a self-indulgent turnaround in the mirror.

“All right, let’s get this over with,” he breathed into the open air. The pessimistic words of encouragement were met with a low, familiar chuckle coming from the corner of the room. He turned with eyes wide to see Shiro, dressed to the nines and looking incredible, leaning against the wall by the door, a cheshire smirk fixed on his lips. Keith did his best to swallow the lump of embarrassment as his cheeks flushed. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Don’t worry. I came in after you were already dressed. I heard you yelling and came to see what was wrong,” Shiro returned genially, his upbeat manner telling of the exact opposite of Keith’s hopes. Mentally, he curled inside of himself and sank into a black hole of self-judgement. “You look incredible, by the way.”

Keith, frozen in consternation, was unable to move as Shiro pushed himself from the wall and sauntered closer toward him. He would never live this down, even if Shiro never brought it up again, Keith would remember how he rummaged through everything and then spun in front of a mirror, looking himself up and down like a narcissist. He would remember it all. Forever. 

Then Shiro did something unexpected. 

A smooth metallic hand came to rest on his shoulder and the cheshire grin softened into something that shattered whatever embarrassment he had instilled within himself. It was an intimate smile, tender and reserved for Keith alone with deep bracken eyes to match. He could have gotten lost in them. He _did_ get lost in them and for a moment he stayed there, feeling nothing similar to the humiliation of seconds prior. The white-hot embarrassment was overtaken by visceral devotion.

He moved closer, taking no more than a step, and wrapped his arms around Shiro’s herculean torso. There was something about the redolence of Shiro that Keith could never place, but it reminded him of somewhere he had never been, could never entirely name. Perhaps it was because he was too afraid to name it lest it be ripped from under him once again. Despite that, he buried himself against his ebony satin top and breathed in the tranquilizing aroma that enveloped him as Shiro’s arms shifted and gathered him in a secure embrace.

Keith’s eyes slipped shut as his mind numbed. Gone was the pressure of crowds, the uncertainty of the future, the embarrassment of being caught; everything slipped into a place of nonexistence except Shiro and the warmth he provided. For a long moment nothing could touch him, nothing could harm him or bother him. He was protected and cared for, he didn’t have to assume his hard-ass disposition. He could just unravel and be the most genuine and exposed form of himself; the rendition of himself only Shiro was privileged to see.

“Keith,” Shiro entreated into his ear. The sound pulled him closer to a reality he was currently fighting to escape, a reality that did not exist to him. With great reluctance, Keith shifted backward but left his hands at Shiro’s back, fingers still clutched to the fabric of his shirt. “We need to get to the ceremony. Even if it’s just the Olkari, we still need to be present.”

The Olkari? That’s who this was about? Keith knew he should have paid closer attention to Lance, even if was a nearly impossible feat. 

The stubborn and selfish desire to keep Shiro to himself in the closet they found themselves was too tempting and he could not help the almost childish way his face twisted up in disdain. It wasn’t often he got to see Shiro anymore and the absence made him lonely and impatient, starved for any kind of attention the other could give him. 

“I don’t think they’d really miss us,” Keith retorted sorely as their hands dropped from one another. A dull chill replaced the space where Shiro had occupied and Keith had to physically stop himself from chasing after him.

Shiro’s eyes lit up with the spark of an idea and an easy smile took over where the beginnings of a grimace had started to form. Keith’s curiosity was piqued as his company moved for the door and beckoned him to follow. He fell into tandem with the other’s footfalls as they left the room and made their way down the vast corridor. 

“Are you going to tell me what you’re up to or…?” Keith mused after minutes of silence. As familiar as he was with the layout of the Castle, he knew Shiro was still guiding them in the direction of the ampitheatre. Besides, Shiro had a sense of duty was stronger than anyone else that Keith could think of, so they definitely were not ditching the gala.

“Later,” he started as the stop for the elevator. “For right now, we just have to get through some speeches and socializing. I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

“You could never disappoint me.”

The pointed statement slipped out before Keith could stop himself and Shiro wasted no time in looking down at him with an inquisitive yet flattered expression. That was often how those types of confessions happened in regards to Keith. Deeply personal statements were said in a serious and unemotional tone without bearing any forethought. Not that he didn’t know how to be tender or affectionate. Quite the contrary; but sometimes the Galra portion shot out of him like a meteor crashing to a planet’s surface. It was prevalent, poorly timed, and usually resulted in both beauty and disaster.

“You say that now, but just wait until I get captured and you have to rescue me again,” Shiro quipped in return as they stepped inside the open doors. The thought alone was enough for tendrils of fear to wrap around him and had to force himself to ignore them. Shiro was beside him, he reminded himself. He was there, he was real. 

“You get caught again and I kick your ass. Understood?” Keith bit back in benevolence and playfully elbowed Shiro’s side. “From this quadrant to the next.” 

Shiro’s laugh was hearty and full and rang freely in the small space of the elevator. Always enough to quell any disquiet that formed within him. Just like that, Keith was free from the grips of anxiety that captured him only moments ago. Perhaps one day he wouldn’t be a tangled mess of panic and vexation. After all, he was only eighteen and never permitted himself any leeway for the trifles of youth.

The journey to the ampitheatre is filled with comfortable silence and uncomfortable steps. Keith hated crowds, he hated formalities, he hated it all, but for whatever Shiro had planned afterwards, he would endure. He would endure anything for him. He would pay attention to Coran and Lance singing karaoke for Shiro. That’s just how committed he was. 

The ceremony opened with a speech from Allura. Her words were moving but the speech itself was short. It garnered attention from every ear and once finished, the crowd cheered. Next to speak was an Olkari leader and that’s when Keith quickly found that the night was to be one of festivities and dance. The leader spoke of triumphs in technological advancements and other such things. Keith had already started tuning everything else out. He found his focus on Shiro, studying the way his ears perked while he listened and the way his fingers shifted against his bicep while he tried to keep listening. The thought of Shiro losing focus during a speech was amusing to Keith, though he couldn’t pinpoint why. Maybe it was due to the fact that Shiro was always so focused on everything he did, so myopic in his tasks, that the thought of him unable to be attentive to something as basic as a speech was just… funny.

The speeches ended, awards were presented, and the party commenced. Keith had entirely forgotten about Lance until he had called to both him and Shiro from across the room. The couple shared a look, Shiro in the middle of swallowing a bite of food as Keith turned away from a rather boring conversation he had no desire to be a part of in the first place, and shrugged in unison before crossing the floor to get to their friend. 

“Isn’t this amazing?! All the food you can possibly eat and drinks you could ever want, just right here. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it,” Lance exclaimed with a starry glint in his eye. He looked like he was about to cry over it, actually, but Keith preferred to downplay anything he possibly could. Beside Lance stood Hunk with a proud expression across his face. Without even having to say it, it was clear that Hunk was responsible for some of the food here. That, however, did not stop him from pointing it out.

“You guys have _got_ to try this, I made it myself. Well, Lance kind of helped, and by helped I mean taste-tested, way more than his fair-share, but I had enough to make more so,” he prattled on excitedly with Lance beaming proudly at his side. It was incredible what that man could accept as a compliment. Oh well, at least he was happy and that was more than a lot of other people could say. 

Shiro grabbed one for each of them and handed Keith his. To him, it looked like a mini-quiche of sorts, but smelled otherworldly--which just so happened to be Hunk’s specialty. Why he ever became a pilot was beyond him, but to each his own. He took a bite of it and felt the small savory pastry melt away in his mouth, the fluffy, thin crust dissolving on his tongue while the filling took a moment longer. Whatever it was, it was better than good and Keith nodded his thanks. 

“You likey?”

“Hunk, this is incredible,” Shiro returned with a nod of agreement. Keith was amazed at how even the simplest compliment sounded like a novel of praise when it came from Shiro. The last time he tried to sound supportive, he was pretty sure he just came off like an asshole. “We’re lucky Lance didn’t get a chance to eat them all.” 

Whatever it was that he had planned, whatever had caused that grin, Keith was ready, he was excited and he hoped to any and every divine that would listen, it did not involve mingling longer than he had to. He was on leave for a day longer, which would offer him plenty of time to catch up with the others. For today, however, he wanted to be with Shiro. That was the whole reason he bothered coming at all.

“Don’t you two look fancy,” came a voice directly behind them. For the first time in a long while, Keith was caught off guard and quickly turned to see who the intruder upon his mental state was. A face not often seen as of late but filled his early days in the Garrison. Sitting on benches during convivial hand-to-hand, at the computer in a dorm room during many late night rendezvous, and at Shiro’s side on the mission to Kerberos. “A little old to be living out that prom fantasy now. Aren’t you, Shiro?”

Matt Holt. Always a pain in the ass, but a better friend than anyone could ever ask for. That’s how Shiro had described him to Keith back on Earth. Initially, Keith had been jealous of Matt’s relationship with Shiro, but soon came to realize the camaraderie between the two was something both unbreakable and nonthreatening. Wherever Shiro was, so was Matt, and that was just the way of it. 

“Matt, you sleep with an anime body pillow,” Pidge piped up from his side and the group froze in place, the only noise being Lance covering his mouth with his hand to stifle a yelp. Keith could swear he saw Matt physically shrink as his own sister destroyed him before either of them had a chance to. 

“Ouch, Katie. Just...ouch,” Matt whimpered histrionically as he clutched his chest and dropped his head in defeat. The group continues on with their banter for a short while and Keith finds himself laughing along with them until a hand reaches at his own and takes it.

He looked up at Shiro, inquisitive, but only nods his head minutely before they dismissed themselves from the party. Everyone in the group seemed a little too nonplussed by their departure, but Keith brushed it off. They remained hand-in-hand as Shiro once again leads them through a maze, this time of bodies instead of hallways. Keith heart started to pound with excitement when they managed to get to an exit. Shiro paused and raised a brow at Keith, that cheshire grin returning once again.

“Are you ready?” Shiro asked in a low voice, one that drew Keith in closer. They were still in the dancehall and the rhythmic beat of some alien band made it hard for him to hear. When he put together what had been asked of him, Keith delivered a curt nod of approval and they made it out of the party and into the hush of the hallways. 

Excitement tied itself tightly within him like gnarled tree roots twisting over the landscape as they broke into a sprint. Keith did not know where he was headed, nor did he care. He simply followed Shiro’s lead, falling in just behind him as they raced hand-in-hand through the Castle. Their footfalls rang like hooves through the empty halls and Keith found himself laughing at the sound. It had been too long since he felt that free. 

“Alright, we best slow down. I don’t want either of us out of energy before the night’s over,” Shiro pointed out as he slowed to a walk. Keith followed suit and the two were left breathing slightly heavier than normal. 

“So what do you have planned?” Keith asked in earnest and tightened his grip around Shiro’s hand. 

“I know you’re not big on surprises, but just this once, let me surprise you. It’s nothing special, but given our tight schedules it’s the most I can offer.” There’s a note of raw honesty in Shiro’s words that caught him off-guard and forced him to find his footing as they once again entered the elevator. 

“Shiro…” He could not think of what else to say, but once the elevator doors slipped shut, he took the only action he could think of. 

Keith pulled at the hand he had yet to let go of and turned to face Shiro. His free hand trailed up a defined torso with scars so deep even the shirt he wore could not hide them from Keith’s fingertips, and found its home at Shiro’s neck. They took a moment to take the sight of one another in, savoring the image no longer presented to them regularly, before Shiro leaned down and took Keith’s lips in a slow, languid kiss. 

Eyelids grew heavy as his mind was numbed to everything but the motion of Shiro’s lips on his. He adored watching Shiro kiss him but could never keep his eyes open for long, so he made time to register the image to memory and allowed instinct to kick in. With his eyes closed, every action Shiro took was unanticipated and the adventure began when teeth seized his bottom lip and nipped delicately at the flesh. 

Keith yelped when Shiro’s hand came to his hip and a thumb dug against his bone. He pushed his pelvis against the other’s thigh, craving the contact he could never seem to get enough of, and left his mouth open long enough for Shiro to trace his upper lip with his tongue. Together, they fell into a sloppy rhythm of lips, teeth, and tongue and it only stopped when Shiro pushed Keith against the door of the elevator and the tell-tale ding signified they had reached their destination. 

They pulled apart, panting, and moved out of the elevator. Whatever Shiro had planned, Keith could only hope that sex was now on the itinerary somewhere. He swallowed the viscous lump in his throat that prevented him from speaking and drew in a deep breath as he eyed Shiro. The disheveled leader of the paladins drew in heavy breaths as he tried to control the flush at his cheeks and recompose himself. Keith did that; that was his influence. It always had been and always would be. 

“Talk about surprises,” Shiro chuckled hoarsely before smoothing his shirt. Keith smirked in response and raised a satisfied brow. 

He pulled himself away from his smug victory long enough to take stock of where he was. The familiar hallways lined with weapons, both functional and not, tipped his curiosity but he pushed it down. There’s no way Shiro would dress like that just to have his clothing destroyed by robots. Although the thought of that satin shirt tattered and hanging from off of that impressively chiseled chest…

He could have pushed him directly into that elevator again and tore that shirt off of him himself had it not been for Shiro stopping ahead of him. Keith brought himself back to reality in the nick of time and halted directly behind him. Shiro turned to face him with an almost embarrassed expression. It was not unlike Matt’s earlier suggestion; Shiro looked more like a nervous teenager taking his date to prom and less like the leader of Voltron going on a date with someone he’s seen naked multiple times. 

“A training deck?” Keith pressed as they stood outside a closed door. “Shiro, if you wanted to run fighting sims, I could have just brought you back with me.” 

“Just trust me on this,” Shiro returned with a nervous grin and opened the door.

When he walked inside, Keith was taken aback by what he saw. As used to the night sky as he was, nothing would ever compare to the night before Shiro left for Kerberos. They had stolen a moment atop a roof and laid there, comfortable in one another’s arms as they stared up at the sky, tinny music coming from a homemade player Matt had made in his freetime. The warm desert air carried upon it an aroma so earthen and authentic Keith found solace in it. It was the last time he had been truly comfortable on Earth. What he saw was an exact replication of that night. 

“I had Pidge and Matt program it for me, Allura was a little apprehensive at first, but Matt’s puppy eyes are hard for anyone to resist. And when Pidge joined in, it was all over. The Holts kids are always ready for a coding challenge,” Shiro explained tenderly, as though they were once again at the risk of getting caught by a superior. The door shut behind them and left them surrounded by a terrestrial night sky. 

“Shiro, I… When? How did you..? What?” Keith’s dumbfounded questions came out as broken as his thoughts. He tried piecing everything together as quickly as he could but when Shiro’s arms wrapped around him and pulled his back against his chest, all thought stopped. There was no reason to overthink this. There was no reason to think at all. 

“I didn’t tell you what I really wanted to that night and I’ve regretted it since,” Shiro whispered into his ear, delicate and deep, and Keith’s heart leapt into his throat. He wanted to take in everything that was happening around him. His ears perked as he grabbed a fraction of the song that was playing; some cheesy, albeit catchy and feel-good, love song. The warmth seeping into from Shiro that contradicted the slightly cooler breeze surrounding them was taken into memory, just as well as every star in the holographic sky. “I love you, Keith.” 

If it was possible for his heart to stop it would have; it felt like it had. Words he had both dreamed and dreaded hearing coming from that particular voice he had spent so long listening to, trying to piece together what it would sound like. Never had he thought it would sound so bitterly sweet. 

He turned in Shiro’s hold and seized his lips once more. The kiss was deep and passionate and real-- noisy and sloppy and perfect. It’s everything he wanted it to convey, a longing that spanned years and galaxies, loss and reunion. Yes, that have had sex since Shiro’s initial return back on Earth, but they still hadn’t said that one all important sentence. And neither could have guessed at just how important it was.

Keith pulled away and looked up at Shiro for the millionth time that night, but there was something different. Something had changed within him that made him more protective, more determined to keep Shiro safe from all harm. It wasn’t something he could explain easily, but it was primal and instinct. 

“That’s gross,” he chuckled out his response, knowing that it would garner a reaction from his companion. When Shiro’s lips parted in protest, Keith couldn’t keep himself from laughing once again. He pressed a kiss to Shiro’s chin in an attempt to sate him before he conceded. “You know I love you, too, Shiro.” 

The rest of the night passed far too quickly; a blur of passionate kisses, sex that left Keith exhausted and wobbly, soft repetitions of their new declaration, and two strong arms securely wrapped around him. Yet Keith would trade it for nothing, and as he cuddled closer to a snoring Shiro, once again soaking in the body heat to counteract the cool of the Castle, he found himself mutely humming along to the tune that had played when Shiro had told him he loved him. A fitting, yet still cheesy, song once he recollected the lyrics. 

_When I feel alone, I reach for you_  
_And you bring me home_  
_When I'm lost at sea I hear your voice_  
_And it carries me_

_In this world we're just beginning_  
_To understand the miracle of living_  
_Baby, I was afraid before_  
_But I'm not afraid anymore_

As absurd as it was, the connection was an acceptable one to make in the esoteric darkness of Shiro’s sleeping quarters. Shiro had made heaven a place on Earth just as he became that one place Keith was always afraid to make him. Shiro was his home and in him Keith felt comfort; he felt alive and free and all of the things he was terrified of feeling on his own. 

____

Keith was pulled from his thoughts when Shiro shifted closer and buried his nose in the nape of his neck, the snoring coming to an end. Usually it meant Keith would have to return to his own sleeping quarters, lest anyone find out about them. However, Shiro just pulled him closer and planted a kiss on his neck. 

____

“You have a nice face, you know that?” Shiro hummed sleepily. Admittedly he sounded like a love-drunk fool, but Keith could only chuckle and try his best to stifle it from becoming an all-out cackle.

____

“So eloquent. You have a nice face, too,” Keith chimed back before allowing his eyes to close for the final time that day.

____


End file.
